“You may not have heard of Levi’s Eureka Innovation Lab – but if you love jeans, you should know about it. From the outside, it’s an unassuming brick building in San Francisco’s Embarcadero. On the inside, though, magic happens. Here, the prototypes for new denim developments that shape not just the Levi’s we live in, but the entire industry – from washes, to treatments, to advances in sustainability – are made.” (See more)

See more denim-porn and read the full interview with Jonathan Cheung at Jean Stories.

Shailene Woodley, Divergent star who apparently loves saying “badass” (a little celeb trivia for you this afternoon) posed in front of the movie poster for the film she is featured in, wearing a pair of Levi’s Denim Shorts that seriously made us wish for warmer days. We love everything about this look, right down to how comfortable she appears in the ensemble. She paired the shorts with a simple leather jacket over a hoodie, and a sheer knit top.

Article via Ecouterre:Levi Strauss has developed a new way to make jeans using 100 percent recycled water. The denim manufacturer, which applied the first-of-its-kind process to 100,000 pairs of women’s jeans during a test run, says it saved some 12 million liters of agua, or enough to fill nearly five Olympic-size swimming pools. The technique, according to Levi’s, is the result of a new, third-party-verified water-recycling standard designed to ease the stress of garment production on freshwater supplies.

One of the company’s key factories, located in southern China, worked with Levi’s to engineer a system that treats and recovers all the water used in the finishing process for subsequent runs. “This water recycling can happen over and over, significantly reducing the overall amount of water used to make our products,” says Reza Hosseini, manager of environmental site and compliance assessment at Levi’s. “As long as the water meets our standards to deliver the quality you expect from our brands, it can be recycled multiple times.”

Till now, there has been a dearth of standards for water recycling and reuse in the apparel industry, adds Hosseini. “This is a company and industry first,” he says. “And we believe this innovation can help change the way our supplier factories use water.”

What do you know about Levi’s jeans? Online retailer Mr Porter takes us behind the scenes and inside the Levi’s Vintage Clothing brand. Denim heads will appreciate taking a peek inside the archival vaults of 100-year old garments, barely holding together in an acid-free shroud. Design Director Miles Johnson and his team documents vintage garments to faithfully capture “the spirit and heritage of American work wear,” from the San Francisco vaults, and recreates them at the LVC Amsterdam headquarters. You don’t have to go that far to get your hands on a Levi’s reproduction. Mr Porter carries some covetable denim pieces you can wear, now. Scroll down to watch the video.

Let’s face it: men also need options when it comes to jeans. While we agree that not every man should wear skinny jeans, some men can really rock a pair. And, for the slimmer men out there, a pair of skinnies are the only ones that will fit properly on their bodies. So, without further adieu, we rounded up nine pairs of skinny jeans that caught our eyes, both for the washes and treatments, and for the potential to flatter the various shapes of the male form. You’ll be surprised how good you look in them. Whether you’re a musician or a college professor, we think you’ll find a wearable pair of jeans to wear this season.

If you are one of the increasing many who cycle their way to work, then you’d be happy to know how you can stay stylish, dry and unencumbered via Levi’s Commuter Series range of denim jackets, shirts, pants and jeans in their 511 skinny fit. The line of clothing appears very well thought out, from water repellent fabric to mobile, stretch pants to an extra wide utility waistband to hold your bike lock. And, that’s not all. The neat 3M® reflectivity stripes on the selvedge seams offers a whole new dimension to safe night riding. It’s all practical, functional and very cool. Watch the video and you’ll see what we mean.

A new year and a new denim closet revamp is in order, no? Voguejust released their first denim must-haves list of the year, featuring a shortlist of head-to-toe denim gets for under $500. From denim shoes by Michael Kors, Alexandre Birman and SEE by Chloe, to a refreshing take on the jeans skirt by Scully Denim, we’re certain you’ll find some inspiration here. We think 2012 is the year that denim detractors may just be swayed to slip on a pair of jeans. Because, after all, Vogue certainly thinks jeans are lust-worthy.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the first pair of Levi’sjeans ever made still exists, then watch this video of Levi’s Historian Lynn Downey, who, with white gloves, shows die-hard Levi’s aficionados what the first Levi’s jean–the Levi’s XX circa 1879, looks like during a special in-store exhibition at the Levi’s Japan store in Shibuya. She explains that the jean was called XX because it came from the XX denim produced at the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company (pronounced AM-us-scag). The historic artifacts are so valuable and the jeans so coveted in Japan, that the Levi’s Japan general manager hired a top security company to put the jeans under triple lock and key, not to mention a security detail for Ms. Downey during her whirlwind visit there.

Steve Jobs was an innovator and creative genius to many who now are likely reading this blog face down into the iPhone or iPad. He liked his devices clean and simple, just like his wardrobe. Black turtle neck, New Balance sneakers and Levi’s jeans were his trademark workwear. But, just how much did he love his jeans? PR Daily reported Jobs owned over 100 pairs of Levi’s blue jeans. Now that’s a denim lover.